A wish list for President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum from our CEO

1. Dear Mr. Bembenek,

   Very well said! I support your ideas and recommendations whole-heartedly. As a past and possibly future resident, I will be watching to see if your new Presidenta can move away from the Trumpian populista stance of AMLO. Hears hoping your Presidenta is reading your paper.

   Saludos,Ronald Hyman

   • agree

2. 👍🏼

3. Please include on your list solutions for the water shortage issue through improved infrastructure

   • Pass a law against washing cars.

     • Does this practice use a lot if water? Can you supply some statistics?

     • Using a power washer uses very little water.

   • Like desalination plants! More reservoirs for rain cachement.

4. The wishlist hits all cylinders for Mexico’s success under it’s new President, Dr. Claudia Sheimbaum Pardo.

5. I concur with two caveats/differences:
   (1) Sell to the world the beauty and wonder of the people and natural environment of México (while taking your advice to address its cancers).
   (2) Do not nearshore except where necessary and without selling out. A capitalist country which blindly sells its means of production, as does the U.S.A., is a loser.

6. Well said Travis! As I am old enough to be your father, I am using your first name.

   If I may elaborate, Ms. Sheinbaum has a unique opportunity as the first woman president of Mexico to build on AMLO’s many achievements and popularity with the working class and underclass, and at the same time incorporate the best thinking of all stakeholders especially those who supported the two opposition candidates. She is uniquely qualified with her educational background and expertise in climate change.

   In the USA she might study the major speeches and priorities of former President Obama who also was a historical figure and was able to speak to all segments of the population and focus on one major reform, healthcare, that had eluded administrations since Teddy Roosevelt in the early twentieth century. His vision prevailed, withstood numerous attacks and was institutionalized. Ms. Sheinbaum will have six years to both build on AMLO’s accomplishments and pivot to the challenges posed by climate change from water policy to green jobs and the inevitable shift from oil to renewable energy. To be sure she has many challenges but also many opportunities given her mandate and the overall popularity of her predecessor.
   -Michael Molloy Basso

   • I love your intelligent response! You made some very important and good points.

7. Spot on, Travis
   You should organize a conference to discuss these and other ways to improve MX!

   • Thank you Tom.
     Interesting idea. We will consider that.

   • Yes!

8. President-elect Sheinbaum must continue the independent foreign policy stances of Mexico and in particular deepen its opposition to the bipartisan US economic and political war against Cuba!

9. Either your very naive or have eaten the plates of lies you’ve heard the through Mexican conventional media owned by the far right or hang out with Mexican elites.

   You don’t know? Mexico is going through a Tranformation with a huge T. LA CUARTA TRANFORMACION. This is a Nation Project that was started by many Mexicans headed by AMLO. Claudia is part of this movement and will continue as the new leader of this transformation that is taking place. She of course will put her own “flavor” but the main course will continue to be the same. The policies in all areas will continue as is. Why do you think the Mexican people voted in droves to get her elected? It was due to AMLO’s recovery of Mexico and all the advances the people are now experiencing. It’s a revolution of the minds that Mexico is going through right now. You will see.

   will continues

10. No mention of Cartels let’s get rid of follow what Guatemala is doing to better themselves hugely popular programs. The Drug Cartels are #1 to be taken down or they may take down Mexico

    • Thanks for your comment. My wish list includes (direct quote):

      Take serious, innovative steps towards improving the security situation in the country. Understand that there is nothing holding back Mexico’s potential more than both the perception and unfortunate reality of violence throughout the country.

      • with all due respect, yet you left off the noun CARTEL in your elequent quote . . . subject violence is sourced directly from Cartel expansion, and thanks to “Fast & Furious” USA weaponry . . . just my opinion

11. Pretty good set of recommendations. One of AMLO’s unfortunate legacies is severe underfunding of Federal highways with the result that many have really gone downhill. You can’t expect to capitalize on near shoring if the factories can’t receive materials and move product over rotten roads.

12. If Morena continues to take money from and kowtow to the cartels, Mexico will become a failed state like many other countries in Latin America and all your economic boons will be moot. It’s already a narco state.
    The #1 issue for voters was security.

    Yet none of that appears in your list. I guess as long as the gringos can still make money, who cares?

    • Thanks for your comment. My wish list includes (direct quote):

      Take serious, innovative steps towards improving the security situation in the country. Understand that there is nothing holding back Mexico’s potential more than both the perception and unfortunate reality of violence throughout the country.

      • Crime is down in all sectors Travis. It takes time to make the necessary changes. You have to understand history and how the country was left in 2018.

      • C’mon [email protected] . . . even MND has an article about this election year being the MOST VIOLENT . . . even in Chiapas a town of locals fled for their safety from Cartel violence, and with the Mexican military not convincing the people that the town folks will be safe . . .

13. Oh right, this list also doesn’t mention the consolidation of power to ensure a dictatorial executive branch, as well as the complete dismantling of democratic watchdog institutions.

    Morena’s super-majority virtually guarantees that democracy will die under Sheinbaum. I’m a bit more blasé about that for two reasons:
    1) I can’t vote
    2) Mexicans saw clearly what AMLO was doing at least in the case of the INE and election reform–there were enormous protests–but voted for him anyway. If they didn’t pay attention to the rest, I can understand, but that one was impossible to miss.

14. Well said

15. 1. If Claudia follows in AMLO’s footsteps Mexico’s fragile democracy is finished. It was the independent INE that guaranteed the integrity of his election in 2018 and Claudia’s this year and still they want to “reform” it to be subservient to the Executive branch. This is AMLO’s revenge because he lost in 2006 and 2018 and blames it on the INE. Ditto the Supreme Court. Is it really corrupt or is it that AMLO is peeved that they would dare to decide against some of his initiatives because they are unconstitutional? He wants to push through his constitutional “reforms” during the month of September when the Congress reconvenes and he is still president. This is not only detrimental to Mexico’s democratic institutions but totally disrespectful of his personally chosen and legitimately elected successor. Direct election of Supreme Court ministers and other judges will politicize the judiciary and remove its independence and power as a co-equal member of the government along with the executive and legislative branches.
    2. You make no mention of Mexico’s broken healthcare system. When AMLO was elected, the Seguro Popular, which had been functioning successfully since Fox’s administration, was summarily cancelled, thus depriving millions of needy Mexicans of basic health services. This was done because supposedly the Seguro Popular was corrupt. Rather than eliminating the corruption, AMLO chose to cancel the program. However, the replacement, INSABI, never worked and left millions of Mexicans unprotected, especially during and after the COVID crisis of 2020. Claudia needs to address this problem immediately as part of guaranteeing everyone access to effective, accessible and affordable healthcare, which is a human right.
    3. You make no mention of Mexico’s broken education system which is in dire need of reform if Mexico is to take its place as the world leader it aspires to be. Thousands of physical plants are in extreme disrepair; teachers are woefully underprepared, underpaid and overly burdened with unmanageable class sizes and teaching materials and techniques; the textbooks are inadequate and the 2 teachers’ unions are in business for their own enrichment and could care less about the wellbeing of students and teachers.

    • Might be a good idea to address Mexico’s poorly performing educational system. Of course, keeping the majority of Mexicans undereducated benefits AMLO’s political party. One of his first acts was to tear up a long sought and hard fought educationial reform. It seems it was too much to ask that Mexico’s teachers be expected to be able to read and write. I live in Mexico and have for 20 year, prior to that I’ve been a regular vistitor since 1974. By law, Mexicans must go to school for 6 years. Many, many times, I’ve seen adult Mexicans need help identifying their seating on airplanes because they could not recognize letters or numbers. My wife has frequently come to the aid of befuddled passengers staring at their boarding passes and the informational displays in airports. I love the Mexican people (or I wouldn’t be living here) and have always found them to be quick witted, intelligent and creative. it has been my opinion for many years that the maing thing holding Mexico back is the educational system.

      • I’ve lived in Mexico for 50 years. I was a teacher and school director here for many years. Actually, all Mexican children are mandated to attend school through secundaria (grades 7-9) but many do not get that far because they need to work to help support their families. Let’s talk about public schools.
        Teachers in primary school (grades 1-6) are usually “normalistas”, i.e. they are prepared to be teachers in normal schools, which give the equivalent of a high school education. So a primary teacher starting out is probably not even 20 years old and probably not that much older than their students and definitely not well-educated or trained enough to be able to properly teach. Add to this the enormous class sizes of 40, 50 and even 60 kids, lack of teaching materials, poor salaries, inadequate physical plants and a watered down curriculum and it is no wonder that so many Mexican students are poorly prepared for any form of higher education such as preparatoria (high school- grades 10-12) or university. Many normalistas go on to become secundaria teachers and specialize in a field, i.e. social studies, math, Spanish language arts, etc., and must have a BA or BS in order to teach at that level. Many of them teach while getting their degree, which can take a while as they are studying part time. So again, they are underprepared and underpaid for what they are teaching and again are faced with huge class sizes, a watered down curriculum and thousands of physical plants in dire need of repair. On the preparatoria level, most teachers are professional people but not necessarily professional teachers, so you’ll find lawyers teaching social studies and Spanish; engineers, some with their own businesses, teaching science and math courses and english teachers who have a university degree but are not only not native English speakers but don’t speak it well enough to teach it. Again, add to this poor salaries and a poorly designed curriculum and the result is less than optimum which is why if they can afford it, most Mexican families send their kids to private schools where the results are better.

16. Looking carefully at her resume and accomplishments, one thing is. Clear, nothing was handed to La Presidenta, except maybe this opportunity to lead. She is prepared and has the ability to follow everyone of your well-thought-out suggestions. For example, if she decides to implement some of the Constitutional reforms but not the anti-Democratic ones, she will immediately earn the respect of the opposition without letting down her base of support. This is an example of what you say is representing all Mexicans. This step is needed right away and would have a very powerful impact inside and outside Mexico. Pick the reforms, You Think, are worthy, and get them done but don’t choose to undermine the opposition just becuSe you have the power and you can. I’m optimistic the new President will operate in her own way that has led to some major accomplishments in her immediate past. What else do I have left but to be optimistic for now?

17. APPEARS TO BE A RIGHT LEANING AGENDA … skewed toward the oligarchs

18. Stop overbuilding without the infrastructure to support it.

19. Well.articulated, but please don’t put all your energy eggs in the solar basket.

20. Might be a good idea to address Mexico’s poorly performing educational system. Of course, keeping the majority of Mexicans undereducated benefits AMLO’s political party. One of his first acts was to tear up a long sought and hard fought educationial reform. It seems it was too much to ask that Mexico’s teachers be expected to be able to read and write. I live in Mexico and have for 20 year, prior to that I’ve been a regular vistitor since 1974. By law, Mexicans must go to school for 6 years. Many, many times, I’ve seen adult Mexicans need help identifying their seating on airplanes because they could not recognize letters or numbers. My wife has frequently come to the aid of befuddled passengers staring at their boarding passes and the informational displays in airports. I love the Mexican people (or I wouldn’t be living here) and have always found them to be quick witted, intelligent and creative. it has been my opinion for many years that the maing thing holding Mexico back is the educational system.

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